A's will remove tarp that covers seats if they advance

The A's announced Thursday that if they advance to the next round of the playoffs, they will remove the tarps that cover a number of seats in the third deck of their stadium.

The A's announced that increased ticket demand led them to open those 11,698 seats for sale for potential ALCS in Oakland.

The tarp remained for Thursday's Game 5 against Detroit, and Oakland needs to win that game for those seats to be uncovered for the next series against either the Yankees or Orioles.

"This has been a sensational year for the Athletics and for our fans," A's owner and managing partner Lew Wolff said, according to Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. "We are thrilled with the tremendous outpouring of fan support."

With the tarp removed, total capacity would be increased to 47,505 for ALCS and World Series games in Oakland.

Low attendance had prompted the A's to start covering empty seats in the upper deck starting in 2006, which also was the last time Oakland hosted a playoff game.

The A' averaged 20,728 in home attendance this season, which ranked 27th among the 30 major-league teams.

However, they drew more than 36,000 for their final regular-season game against Texas and for each of their first two games of the playoffs.